Personal computer systems are typically small systems that have a computer or processing unit, a display, and several input devices. The computer has a housing and a plurality of internal hardware components in the housing. The internal hardware components typically include a processor, memory devices, power supplies, fans, buses and many other internal components. The display and input devices are coupled to the computer. In most applications, the input devices are a keyboard to transmit alphanumeric commands to the computer and a mouse, track-ball or joystick to control items shown on the display.
Minitower computers are a popular type of personal computer for desktop and other applications. In contrast to conventional low-profile desktop computers, the height of a minitower computer is significantly larger than the width. A typical minitower computer housing includes a front panel; a rear panel spaced rearwardly from the front panel; first and second side panels extending along first and second sides of the front and rear panels; a top panel extending between the top portions of the front and rear panels; and a bottom panel extending between the bottom portions of the front and rear panels. The panels define a cavity in which the internal hardware components are enclosed. Several housings for minitower computers also have a plurality of feet depending from the bottom panel to support the computers on a floor, shelf, desktop, table or other support surface. The front panel of the computer housing is also configured to receive external hardware components (e.g., CD-ROM drives, tape drives and external disk drives). The external hardware components, for example, are typically received in a plurality of bays in the front panel. Additionally, the front panel, the rear panel, the bottom panel and/or one of the first or second side panels can also have openings to vent the cavity.
One drawback of minitower computers is that it is difficult to operate some of the external components in the front panel of the housing. For example, when a minitower computer is placed on a support surface below the user (e.g., a floor or low shelf), it can be cumbersome to close the tray of a CD-ROM drive because the CD-ROM control buttons are often underneath the tray. The control buttons in this situation are not only difficult to reach, but they are often obstructed from view, thus making it even more difficult to operate CD-ROM drives. Many users can also have difficulty with handling floppy disks in external disk drives for similar reasons. In other applications in which a minitower computer is supported by a desktop, it can be cumbersome to correctly position compact disks in the CD-ROM drive. Therefore, one drawback of conventional minitower computers is that it can be inconvenient to operate the external hardware components at the front panel of the housing.
Another drawback of minitower computers, as well as conventional low-profile desktop computers, is that they are noisy and often acoustically annoying. Most personal computers have fans to cool the high performance processors. The fans, however, produce a constant, relatively high-pitched tone that can be annoying and even disruptive in a quiet environment. The openings in the housing, moreover, typically channel the fan-noise toward the user or a wall that reflects the fan noise toward the user. Therefore, another drawback of personal computers is that they are noisy and even annoying.